Crews in Mobile, Alabama, removed the massive 65-foot forward smokestack from the vessel on Monday, Okaloosa County officials said in a news release. The stack will be preserved in a secure location for future use in the SS United States Conservancy’s land-based museum. The aft funnel is expected to be removed soon after the forward funnel.
County officials purchased the 990-foot SS United States ocean liner for $1 million in 2024 with the goal of creating expanded marine habitat in the northern Gulf while enhancing the fishing and diving industry. County officials used county tourist development tax money to buy the ship.
The ship was built in Newport News, Virginia, debuted in 1952 and set a record by traveling from the U.S. to Europe in about three and a half days on her maiden voyage.
Going down
Soon, the SS United States will join more than a dozen large vessels that have already been deployed in the Gulf by the Natural Resources Team at Destin-Fort Walton Beach. It will magnify the already thriving tourism industry in Destin-Fort Walton Beach that contributes more than $2 billion to the local and regional economy, county officials said.
“This is a massive next step toward an environmental effort that will benefit our local marine habitat and build upon our robust tourism industry in Destin-Fort Walton Beach,” Okaloosa County Commission Chairman Paul Mixon said in the news release. “I applaud the efforts of our contractor, Coleen Marine and the Natural Resources Team at Destin-Fort Walton Beach for their work in preserving this ship’s history as the World’s Largest Artificial Reef.”
The SS United States will be deployed in late 2025, about 20 nautical miles south of Destin-Fort Walton Beach at a depth of 180 feet to the bottom and about 55 feet to the upper deck. It will satisfy the diving aspirations of both beginners and technical divers, county officials said. An exact location for the deployment has not been finalized.
This past spring, county officials purchased the former Red Lobster restaurant property, next to the Santa Rosa Sound in Fort Walton Beach, for $3.5 million. The property could serve as the site of the SS United States Museum, which would educate people about the historic ocean liner.
Lawsuit dismissed
On Wednesday in Pensacola, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that was filed against Okaloosa County by the New York Coalition to Save the Steam Ship United States Inc. The coalition had filed the suit to try to prevent the county from dismembering, destroying and sinking the ship for use as an artificial reef.
M. Casey Rodgers, a U.S. district judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida, dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, according to court records.
In her order, Rodgers wrote that while the coalition’s directors “have demonstrated a genuine interest in historic preservation efforts, completed projects to preserve other landmarks for public benefit, identified an emotional connection to the vessel, and even shown a desire to donate pier space, they remain bystanders — sharing a public sentiment toward the ship but lacking a real or legally protected personal stake in the matter.”
- Learn more about the World’s Largest Artificial Reef at https://myokaloosa.com/SSUSFAQs
- View an interactive map of the existing artificial reefs in Destin-Fort Walton Beach at https://www.destinfwb.com/explore/eco-tourism/artificial-reefs/
- Learn more about the SS United States Conservancy and the ship’s history at https://www.ssusc.org/